Technology is the key to marketing: Report

The ‘The CMO of Tomorrow’ report by Oracle & ADMA highlights the need for marketers to take their place on the boardETBrandEquity | November 17, 2016, 15:00 IST

Oracle Marketing Cloud today released a report in collaboration with the Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA) namely – ‘The CMO of Tomorrow’. The report clearly highlights the fact that digital channels, smart mobility, new marketing and advertising technologies are fundamentally redefining what is expected of marketing leaders. The report was made basis the research conducted across the Asia Pacific regions (India, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore).

Over 450 senior marketing executives, participated in the survey which looked at how organisations are meeting the challenges and impediments faced in today’s digital market, and how their investments are likely to change in the year ahead. According to the report, marketers will need to be as familiar with a balance sheet as they are with an advertising campaign. They have to be comfortable around technology and have strong analytics skills around data. They must be able to engage with management peers at the top tier of the company to secure budget and get buy-in for significant cultural change.

Executives in the Indian market were more likely to have more experience and, by extension, be more senior in their organisations. Three quarters of respondents to the survey had at least eight years under their belt, and the majority operated at C-Suite or VP level, making them the most senior cohort in the study.

Mohan Joshi, senior director, Oracle Marketing Cloud, said, “Senior executives want their marketing teams focused on business goals, revenue growth and ROI, however, many marketers are still too focused on traditional campaign metrics as a measure of success. The research has highlighted the disconnect between what senior management define as success; which is revenue vis-à-vis the campaign specific metrics that many marketers still measure themselves on.”

Key India specific findings of the report :

-Social media, campaign management and web analytics all placed highly on the priorities for the next 12 months.

-India was the only geography where mobility was rated highly as a strength and not the major weakness. There was also more confidence from Indian executives about their companies’ proficiency across a range of disciplines, particularly mobile.

-Lack of budget was cited as the biggest problem in every geography except India

-Almost 80% of Indian respondents said that they were excited or enjoyed working in analytics and 40 per cent of respondents said that predictive analytics was on their to-do list in the next twelve months

- The majority of respondents believe their organisations are already sophisticated users of digital technology, with more than 80 per cent rating their performance as average or above. However, it is worth noting that less than ten per cent described themselves as very advanced. Executives in the Indian market were more likely to have more experience and, by extension, be more senior in their organisations

- Executives were very confident about their ability to work with data, with more than 78% suggested that this was something they were very good or excellent at.

- IT, Financial Services and Media were the three biggest verticals, but Retail, Professional Services and Travel were also featured heavily

- Ad tech and marketing technology were more likely to be integrated in Indian companies, although there was less middle ground. Just under half (43%) said there was little or no integration. Despite the higher levels of integration, the majority of respondents said ad tech’s place in the bigger picture remained confused.

- Indian companies are much more likely to manage their digital advertising internally. Indeed, more organisations reported managing it internally than those using a hybrid or fully outsourced model combined.

Jodie Sangster, CEO ADMA, said, “The CMO of Tomorrow understands that great customer experiences translate directly to bottom line results. They build teams that can deliver ROI and create KPIs that put the customer at the very centre of organisational thinking. However, marketers can’t deliver customer experience alone. Other departments including IT, Finance and Technology play a critical role in delivering the outcomes. Marketers will need to collaborate and mediate at the executive leadership level to ensure the brand stays focused, and the executive team buys into an ethos of genuinely putting the customer first, she continued. Not every CMO is there today. The research shows significant differences between markets in relation to CMO skills and focus. In many markets, there are major shortcomings that need to be overcome to ensure CMOs are prepared for the future" she commented.

The three main impediments for the entire APAC region, outlined in the report that marketers feel are preventing them from doing their jobs are:

Budget: (50%) Budget was cited consistently around the region as the biggest or second biggest impediment. The failure of marketers to secure budget speaks to the wider issues of both seniority and an inability to describe the benefits and return on investment of digital marketing. Lack of budget was cited as the biggest problem in every geography except India.

Capability and Education: (48%) Marketers are grappling with the issue of finding the right skills and ensuring the capabilities of their existing teams are kept up-to-date.

Return on Investment: (37 %) Given their concerns over capabilities and skills and their knowledge and understanding of digital marketing technologies, it is little wonder that marketers struggle to mount a successful argument for further investment in digital marketing based on measures such as return on investment.

It is clear that the CMO of Tomorrow is going to have quite a different role within organisations than in the past. It won’t simply be about how we understand marketing today. Instead, customer advocacy will be critical and the CMO will need authority across much broader parts of the business to deliver the best results.